Trump wants to tax imported medicines up to 200%

United States President Donald Trump said today that he intends to impose up to 200% rates on imported drugs, as well as rates on semiconductors and other strategic products. The goal, according to him, is to encourage internal production and strengthen national security.

What happened

Measure has no set date yet, but can happen within a year and a half. If taxation is confirmed, it may directly affect large pharmaceuticals, which warn of the risk of price increase, investment discouragement and possible impacts on the supply chain. “We will give companies about a year, a year and a half to enter, and after that they will be charged,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting at the White House.

Declarations caused immediate reactions of the pharmaceutical industry. Pass, the largest association in the sector in the USA, has classified the proposal as a counterproductive. “Each dollar spent on tariffs is a dollar that is no longer invested in national manufacture or in the development of treatments and cures for patients,” said Alex Schriver, vice president of public relations of the entity.